The demonstration called by Chega as a siege of the PS national headquarters in Lisbon brought together more than a hundred people around 4 p.m. this Saturday, but positioned itself a few meters away from the building.
About twenty PSP agents from the rapid response teams, accompanied by several vehicles, created a security perimeter and cut off the road in front of Largo do Rato, which remained empty.
Despite being away from the PS headquarters and leaning against the wall in front, the interventions in the Chega concentration began with applause for the security forces.
Even without the presence of party chairman André Ventura, the demonstrators tried to create a human cordon in the space reserved for them, creating a kind of semicircle, despite the ‘speaker’ continuing to speak of a siege of the socialist headquarters.
The demonstration was scheduled for 3.30 pm and is proceeding peacefully for the time being, with only Chega shouting and some flags.
When Chega’s president, André Ventura, arrived on the scene a few minutes before 4:00 pm, excitement mounted, with shouts: “There is only one good, Chega’s and no one else”.
On Thursday, Chega’s president and deputy said the purpose of the demonstration would be “to besiege the PS headquarters to show outrage at the way he has run the country”. Ventura added that he had met with the Lisbon police and city council, hoping for “an orderly and peaceful demonstration”.
On social media, the party announced the initiative as a “siege off the coast of Rato, against the corruption and impunity of the PS”, with photos of former rulers José Sócrates and Armando Vara or former banker Ricardo Salgado and sentences such as ” in Corruption in Portugal has a stamp” or “no to abuse of power”.
The deputy secretary general of the PS, João Torres, the parliamentary leader of the PS, Eurico Brilhante Dias, and the former socialist leader, Francisco Assis, have already rebelled against such demonstrations, labeling them “anti-democratic”, “unspeakable” or “vandalism” institutional, calling for rejection by all Democrats.
André Ventura’s reaction began on social media.
“What kills democracy is the corruption that impoverishes the country and gives everything to an elite of bureaucrats with the PS card, while the wages and pensions of the Portuguese have been stagnant for years!” he wrote.
Source: DN
